Bojan Vrbnjak
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, commented on the difficult situation in the European automotive industry at the opening of the new Pro One offices in Mirafiori. BMW reports lower-than-expected profits, and Volkswagen, even worse, is considering 15.000 layoffs and admits it doesn't have a plan B (yet).
Unpopular but necessary decisions
The number one of the Stellantis group doesn't hold back and deals with many current topics. He pays particular attention to the issue of fines for CO2 emissions that exceed the EU limits, which will come into force in 2025. worked to prepare. The European Union has set a framework within which car manufacturers must operate in order to compete fairly. It's not right for the cards to be reshuffled just a few months before the start of this new challenge.”
Tavares continued: "We've made a lot of unpopular decisions lately. We received a lot of criticism for this. But we only acted the way we did because we didn't want to go the Volkswagen way. At least for now, we managed to avoid such drastic measures."
The European automotive industry is in a survival phase
"I have four grandchildren aged 6 to 12. I have a task for them too: Stellantis must become climate neutral by 2038. The European Union called on us to reduce emissions and set milestones on this path. New regulations will be adopted in 2025. My cars are ready, my people are ready and our factories are ready. Why the delay? Is global warming no longer a problem? Right now, half of Portugal is burning," Tavares says about the large forest fires in Portugal.
The general director of the Stellantis group, who today nevertheless announced the postponement of the Gigafactory in Termola, also said that "when the European Union decided that we need to start an ecological transition, it decided to provide consumers with the best possible products." We strive every day to get them. It is very difficult, but there is no turning back."
“We must not be afraid,” said Tavares, “the automotive industry is in a kind of survival mode: we are not afraid. We must not complain, we must not hesitate, we must focus our efforts to survive. In order to survive, we need to achieve cost parity between electric cars and internal combustion engine vehicles, but this opens another chapter. We are moving in a geographical area of chaos and it is difficult to predict. Governments have decided to reduce purchase incentives, which slows down the market.
By forcing electricity, you will all end up the same, but if we look at the design of sttelantis, and especially of the new alfa junior, it is like a Renault hood 🤔🤔🤔🤔